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European Commonwealth
The European Commonwealth was political union between the countries of Europe, before the Great War. Founded in the years following World War II (1939-1945), the goal of the union was to prevent the rise of another devastating conflict, through diplomacy, cooperation, and a downplaying of nationalist sentiment. The commonwealth was hit hard by the energy crisis in the 21st century, and found itself entangled in a bloody war with the middle-east. When the oil reserves went dry, the European Commonwealth collapsed into nothing more than feuding nation-states, fighting for the remaining resources. European soldiers were still fighting when the bombs fell on October 23, 2077. History The "West European Coal Community" was formed in 1949, when France, West Germany, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg and Italy entered into a mutual agreement to centralize the coal industries of the member states. Throughout the 1950s more nations joined, and in 1961, the organization was renamed the "Commonwealth of European States" as the reach extended beyond western Europe. As the Soviet Union faced a crippling economic crisis in the late 1960s, it granted a great deal of independence to it's "Eastern Bloc" satellite states. As a result, many of these countries joined the growing commonwealth, starting with Poland in 1968. Hungary and Yugoslavia followed in 1969, and by the end of the 1973, the entire Iron Curtain had been lifted, with the addition of Bulgaria. Only Czechoslovakia abstained as a military coup occurred, with Communist hard-liners seizing control of the nation. With the addition of Ireland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the list of member states in 1999, the name was finally changed to the "European Commonwealth" on January 1, 2000. The commonwealth now covered the entire European landmass, save for Czechoslovakia, Turkey and the Soviet Union. By the year 2020, the European Commonwealth had taken on many of the characteristics of a nation, with a shared currency and a unified military command. Apart from Great Britain and France (Who wished to remain independent players on the world stage), the member states of the commonwealth had effectively ceased to exist anywhere except on paper. Resource Wars The European Commonwealth was not destined to last, however, as the energy crisis of the mid-21st century began to take its toll on the entire world. The commonwealth, reliant on oil imports from the middle-east, threatened military action if oil prices weren't lowered. When the middle-eastern states failed to respond to their demands, the nations of Europe invaded, launching attacks from western allied Israel, and Franco-British colonial possessions on April 3, 2052. The initial campaigns proved quite successful for the commonwealth; Turkey was completely overrun by European forces by mid-May, and thrusts into Arabia, Iran and Egypt had given the Europeans a strong foothold, leading many soldiers to adopt the slogan "Be home by Christmas!". These gains proved to be short lived, as a coalition of Arab states (In addition to Persia and Afghanistan) managed to reverse the European thrusts in early fall. After regrouping near the Iraqi border in early 2053, a British led offensive led to massive gains in Arabia, with mechanized forces reaching the Islamic holy city of Mecca by December of 2054. Outraged, insurgent groups detonated an atomic device on Christmas day, destroying the Israeli city of Tel Aviv. This was followed by a short nuclear exchange, with France, Britain and Israel dropping atomic bombs on Cairo, Tehran, and Abu Dhabi throughout the following week. Few gains were made throughout the next two years. The British opened a second front in Afghanistan (Beginning with invasions from the Raj of India), while French forces became bogged down in North Africa. Then, in a desperate last measure, the Arab coalition launched a massive invasion of southern Europe in August, 2057. With European armies stretched out all over the Middle East, Italy and the Balkans proved to be quite vulnerable (The British were able to repel the invasion of Gibraltar, thanks in large part to the Royal Air Force). In early September, German forces had arrived in the Balkans, while the Royal Armored Corps were deployed to Italy. By January 2059, the European forces had managed to repel the Arab forces from Sicily and Greece, resulting in the complete collapse of the Arab war machine. It had come at a price, however, as the war of attrition had all but drained the middle-eastern oil reserves. Dissolution See also: The European Wars The lack of a clear-cut victory led to much dissent back at home, and tensions between the countries began to grow at a steady pace. Precious resources had been squandered, southern Europe bore the scars of battle, and rising nationalism helped fuel the flames of dissent. As smaller nations started to go bankrupt, chaos began to hit the streets, and martial law was declared in major cities, such as Berlin and Paris. Skirmishes began to take place at border crossings, and soon, negotiations between nations broke down. Forming alliances (that were often short-lived and unsteady), the nations of Europe began to declare full-blown war against each other, effectively bringing the commonwealth to an end. Members (2000-2060) *Albania *Andorra *Austria *Belgium *Bulgaria *Crete *Denmark *Finland *France *Germany *Great Britain *Greece *Hungary *Ireland *Italy *Liechtenstein *Luxembourg *Monaco *The Netherlands *Norway *Poland *Portugal *Romania *Spain *Sweden *Switzerland *Yugoslavia Category:Groups Category:Places Category:Pre-War Countries